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David Britt will appear before the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday to speak against tariffs.

Britt, Chairman of the Economic Development Committee for the Spartanburg County Council, will illustrate how BMW’s decision to build its first plant outside Germany and in Greer, connecting Greenville and Spartanburg counties, has pumped $9 billion into the upstate and saved a region decimated by the decline of the textile industry.

As Americans enjoy the holiday week and prepare for their summer adventures, preparations of a different kind are nearing completion at the BMW plant in Greer. The final phases of gearing up for production of the all-new BMW X5, which begins later this summer.

The inaugural BMW Pro-Am Celebrity Softball game played Tuesday night at Fluor Field almost cost the golf tournament one of its most ardent participants.

John O’Hurley, known for the role of J. Peterman on the sitcom “Seinfeld”, tore his hamstring during the game. “I took a wide turn coming around third and popped a hamstring,” O’Hurley said Friday after his round at Thornblade Club.

Aaron Rodgers, of the Green Bay Packers, acclaimed actor Don Cheadle and Golf Channel’s Morning Drive co-host Paige Mackenzie are among over 30 celebrities who will tee off next week at the BMW Charity Pro-Am at Thornblade Club, Furman University Golf Club and The Cliffs Valley.

Greer-made BMW X models X1, X3 and X5 accounted for 51 percent of April sales. BMW brand sales in April were led by BMW’s Sports Activity Vehicles up 28.9 percent in April and 6.3 percent year-to-date.

Sales of BMW Group vehicles in the U.S. increased 4.2 percent in April for a total of 27,213 vehicles (BMW and MINI brands combined), compared with 26,105 vehicles sold in the same month a year ago. Year-to-date BMW Group sales in the U.S. are up 3.3 percent from the first four months of 2017.

Nearly 87 percent of these Sports Activity Vehicles and Coupes were exported through the Port of Charleston with an export value of approximately $8.76 billion, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. That makes the Greer factory the leading U.S. automotive exporter by value.

Following its seventh consecutive year of record sales, the world’s number one manufacturer of premium vehicles started 2018 with another record: the BMW Group has never sold so many cars in January as in this year. A total of 169,538 customers took delivery of a BMW, MINI or Rolls-Royce premium vehicle, an increase of 3.8 percent on the same month last year.

The BMW X6 (3,128 / +5.8%) was a main growth drivers in the BMW X family, as production of the new BMW X3 ramps up through the second half of the year.

For more than seven years, BMW Manufacturing has offered the BMW Scholars program, an apprenticeship program that educates and trains students to work in the highly-technical environment of advanced manufacturing. Today, BMW Manufacturing announced that it will expand the number of apprentices in its BMW Scholars program to 200, doubling the size of the program. With this increase, BMW will add a fourth education partner in Piedmont Technical College.

“Technology is constantly changing in the automotive industry,” said Knudt Flor, president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing. “Now more than ever, we must invest in highly-skilled workers who can solve problems. Investing in BMW Scholars allows us to develop a pool of talented men and women who will help sustain the future of BMW.”

BMW Manufacturing and SC Works will host a recruitment event for equipment maintenance technicians on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., at the SC Works office at 225 S. Pleasantburg Drive in Greenville.

To attend the recruitment event, applicants must first be registered at SCWORKS.org. SC Works will screen applicants to determine eligibility. If eligible, applicants will receive an invitation to attend the Feb. 6 event, during which they will complete a computer-based technical knowledge assessment. Results of the assessment will be provided onsite. If successful, the candidate will be scheduled to take a hands-on electrical troubleshooting proficiency test at a later date.

BMW driving instructor Johan Schwartz drifted an all-new BMW M5 sedan 232.5 miles around a skid pad at the BMW Performance Center in Greer setting a new Guinness World Records title for the greatest distance vehicle drift in 8 hours.

Schwartz shattered the previous record by 143 miles. A second Guinness World Records title for the longest twin vehicle drift (water assisted) was also set on the same day.

The Greer-produced BMW X5 was one of the positive October sales gains for BMW brand vehicles. The X5 increased 9.5 percent to 4,254 vehicles.

Overall the models – X3, X4, X5, X6 – produced in Greer showed a collective 22.5 percent decrease or 6,639 vehicles sold this year compared to 8,564 vehicles sold in 2016. Year-to-date overall sales are down -0.5 percent or 80,869 sold compared to 81,285 sold in 2016.

Construction has begun on a 297,600-square-foot building in Velocity Park that will become the first of three buildings on the property on Victor Hill Road in Greer. The property borders Greenville and Spartanburg counties and is one of the most convenient to the automobile industry serving BMW and other new industrial and manufacturing industries.

Cullum Interests, a Greer-based industrial developer led by Allen Cullum, is partnering with Childress Klein, one of the Southeast’s largest commercial and real estate firms.